getting surgery.!

[tonynoriega]

ok, so i have to have oral surgery next friday.

i am getting a cyst removed from my lower jaw / gumline area right below my front teeth... between #25 and #26 teeth.

i may also have to have one of the teeth removed due to the fact that the cyst has impeded on the bone and the tooth will not have any structural support....

anyone had anything even remotely close to this done?

i know getting anesthesia is more expensive than funny gas and some shots... but i dont want to remember a damn thing if i dont have too.

insight / advice?

[lawman]

I don't have any advice, but my dad is a retired dentist and one of dental one-liners I remember him saying was "Your teeth are fine but those gums will have to come out."

[Anyango]

Sorry i don't have any advice either, but this is to wish you good luck for your surgery.
All The Best!

[eelixduppy]

All the best for Friday! Hope you have a speedy recovery! Ice cream helps :)

[weeks]

Relax. It is amazing what they can do now. You will not feel any pain--until you get the bill. Afterwards: Advil is your friend.

[Old_Honky]

I had something similar but not quite as serious done a few years ago. It was an abscess on the root of a front tooth and the surgeon removed it by cutting a flap out of the gum and flopping it down to gain access so he could cut it away. I had it done under local anaesthetic and he set up the overhead mirror so I could watch the action. It was fascinating - like looking at someone else's operation. I felt no pain.

He did warn me that it might re-occur and sure enough about two years later I had to have it done again this time they insisted on putting me out and the pain when in recovery was intense, but (touch wood) it has been fine since.

[Green_Grass]

Had minor gum surgery a while back. He took out a part of the infected and diseased gum in the lower jaw. Did it with local aneasthetics (multiple injections in the gum). It was totally numb and did not feel a thing. Was on antibiotics and pain killers for a few days..

On the other hand got a wisdom tooth extracted surgically with the same method. The dentist cut too much. Was in agony and very expensive antibiotics for a month. That was hell.. Bad mouthed that dentist to every one I could get hold off..Just to vent and to make him lose some biz..

So actually it depends upon the dentist doing the job.. ;-)

[tonynoriega]

well glad to hear that some of you had good experiences...

i clammered to the dentist that i might have to put off the surgery becuase i can not afford it, in hopes to get a better deal... i know you can negotioate or haggle for better deals in this situation..

ok, so i think ill go local anesthesia with some gas....

and yes, thats how she explained it to me... make a horizontal incision in the gumline, fold the flap back, expose the cyst and root structure, and remove the cyst. what is weird she thought, is that it goes completly through the jawline... you could literally poke a straw from the outside of the jawline, through to the other side inside my mouth... grose i know.

and since its between two teeth, one of the teeth had the root infected and my be lost... possible bone graph to keep the structure in tact.

if both teeth (on the outsides of the cyst) have to be removed... i will need a bridge..

im freaking 30... i dont need this, this early in my life?

how did they cyst form? she says its not cancerous, but has to send it to the lab anyway....

used to be a smoker, but not anymore...

jeez... what a year.

[wheel]

I knew a dentist who changed careers to selling life insurance because he wasn't causing people enough pain in his first career.

[wheel]

More seriously, my sister had some extensive dental surgery done. She had serious overbite, they broke her jaw and redesigned from there. She was in intensive care for a couple of days afterwards.

She looks way better now, but she'll tell you that in retrospect she wouldn't have done it knowing how painful it was.

[tonynoriega]

uhhhhhhh yeah... lets hope i dont need re-constructive surgery after this.

im hoping they can slice me open... get the canteloupe scooper and get this thing out of my mouth...

i did however read another site that said this guys cyst came back becuase they didnt clean it all out... and it grew back....

ohhh i just made myself ill...

[mightymid]

wheel, that's an awful story. My orthodontist suggested breaking my jaw to correct an overbite. At the time, I balked purely because of the cost. I hadn't thought about the possibility of intensive care. Holy smokes.

[tonynoriega]

i have a pretty good overbite myself... the upper teeth come over about 1/8" past the bottom ones...

but screw that... i can live with that... what i am concerned about is this cyst removing more of my jaw bone than i can safely be ok with...

in any case... ill let everyone know how it goes...

[mightymid]

Best of luck, tony.

[Old_Honky]

i will need a bridge..

im freaking 30... i dont need this, this early in my life?

Bridges aren't so bad, not much different than normal teeth and far better than dentures. I've had a lower bridge since I was 35 and an upper bridge since I was 38 I'm 57 now and they are still going strong.

Good luck with the op, it sounds very like what I had done, I think the general anaesthetic is the way to go.

[nomis5]

Good luck!

The fear of the pain is worse than the pain itself, especially where teeth are concerned. What works for me is selecting a pleasant picture or scene in my mind beforehand and then embellishing it as the work is being done.

You will be lying down at the time so try picturing being on a sunny deserted beach with your partner. Concentrate on the tranquil noise of the water lapping on the sand. Imagine your partner serving you up a cool beer and gently sipping it. Remember, the beach is deserted so you can do anything you like with your parner!

[vincevincevince]

Once you're in there and the work starts it is too late to change your choice of pain reduction; so you may as well go for the cheapest option in the certain knowledge that the pain is only temporary. General anaesthetic remains a risky procedure - I'd be very worried about being knocked out in a dental surgery rather than a hospital with both intensive care and consultant anaesthesiologists available.

Good luck!

[tonynoriega]

vince, good idea...

didnt think of that. my wife got knocked out, but she was in a hospital so not so scary...

me on the other hand... yeah... better go local anesthesia.

[youfoundjake]

tony, as a person that sets up and installs dental offices both general dentistry and orthodonics, the technology today of oral surgery is incredible. They can literally take an xray, do a slice, take another xray, do another slice, take another xray, and so on and so on, to the point that a jaw reconstruction can be done on an out patient status.
With a local, you may even get to watch what they are doing, depending on if they have 2 monitors, me personally, knock me out, but ehh, no worries mate, you'll be in good hands, especially if its oral surgery office that is one of our clients. :)

[youfoundjake]

Tony, how did it go?